HONG KONG • Alibaba Group's Hong Kong shares closed their first trading session up 6.6 per cent from the issue price after this year's largest stock sale.
The Chinese e-commerce giant's shares rose to HK$187.60, versus a HK$176 issuance price. They traded under the code 9988 - auspicious numbers in Chinese culture that signify prosperity.
Shares worth HK$13.99 billion (S$2.44 billion) were traded, according to Refinitiv data, making it the third biggest debut on record for the Hong Kong market.
Alibaba is already the fifth most-traded company in New York this year, averaging US$2.6 billion (S$3.6 billion) a day, Refinitiv data showed.
The company has raised at least US$11.3 billion from its secondary listing, which has been seen as a vote of confidence in Hong Kong's financial future amid six months of increasingly violent anti-government protests. The figure could climb to as much as US$12.9 billion if Alibaba chooses to exercise an over-allotment option within 30 days of the start of trade.
The funds raised from the Hong Kong listing will help Alibaba, Asia's biggest company by market value and world's seventh largest, invest more in a range of online services.
But analysts also note that the establishment of a base of investors in Hong Kong and China could function as a backup for the company should its shares be hit in New York amid the US-China trade dispute.
The Hong Kong and New York stocks are fungible, which means that investors can buy and sell the same shares on either exchange, and that pricing on the exchanges are unlikely to diverge too far from each other.
The premium to New York reflects the willingness of investors in the city and Asia to take on the stock of a company they know well, said market participants.
Expectations are also high that it will get a lift in valuation when it becomes eligible for trading in the Stock Connect that links Shanghai and Shenzhen with Hong Kong next June.
"There will be some upside for the company's price in Hong Kong, but I don't think we will see the shares double or triple in a year," said Geo Securities chief executive Francis Lun.
At yesterday's listing ceremony, CEO Daniel Zhang, lieutenants wearing Alibaba lapel pins and Hong Kong dignitaries were on hand to strike the opening gong. Mr Zhang noted the Hong Kong debut had been a long time coming.
Alibaba had initially hoped to list in Hong Kong, but eventually chose New York for its record-breaking US$25 billion initial public offering in 2014 after its unusual governance structure failed to win acceptance from Hong Kong regulators. The loss of the listing triggered years of argument and consultations that resulted in rule changes last year.
"Thank you Hong Kong, and thank you HKEX (Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing). Your reform and innovation of the capital markets in the past few years has made it possible for us to realise what we missed five years ago," Mr Zhang said.
In its prospectus, Alibaba said it would use the funds raised to increase its investment in online delivery and local services platform Ele.me and in online travel group Fliggy. Alibaba also plans to spend more on developing Youku, one of the leading online video platforms in China.
Small retail investors were enthusiastic buyers of the deal, subscribing for 40 times the shares they were originally allotted and eventually taking 10 per cent of the deal.
REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
